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Trid
Saffron chicken on pastry sheets
Trid: paper-thin Fassi pastry sheets layered under saffron chicken with lentils and fenugreek
Before pastilla became the showpiece, Fez and Marrakech made trid, a dish so old it is sometimes called the grandmother of rfissa. Sheets of dough are stretched until you can read through them, cooked briefly on an upturned pot, then layered on a platter and soaked with the cooking juices of chicken simmered with onions, lentils, saffron and a whisper of fenugreek. The pastry softens into silky, almost noodle-like folds, the sauce is golden and peppery, and the chicken sits on top in big pieces to be shared by hand. It is served at family lunches, for guests, and to women after childbirth. Chef's tip: oil your hands and the work surface generously when stretching the dough; it is the oil, not flour, that lets it go paper-thin without tearing.
- Total time
- 150 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 3 ½ lb chickena whole bird cut into 8 pieces, skin on
- 3 onionsgrated
- 3 garlic clovescrushed
- 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp ras el hanout
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 pinch saffron threadscrumbled into 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 tbsp fenugreek seedssoaked overnight or for 2 hours in hot water, drained
- 2 tbsp smen or gheemade from pasteurised butter
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 5 ½ oz brown or green lentilsrinsed
- 1 coriander and parsley bunchtied with string
- 7 ½ cups water
For the trid pastry
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 3 ½ oz fine semolina
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup warm waterabout
- ½ cup vegetable oilfor stretching
- 1 ⅜ oz buttermelted
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Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Put 3 ½ lb chicken, 3 onions, 3 garlic cloves, 1 ½ tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 ½ tsp ras el hanout, ½ tsp ground turmeric, 1 pinch saffron threads, 2 tbsp smen or ghee, ¼ cup vegetable oil and 2 tsp salt in a large heavy pot. Turn the chicken through the spices and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring, until the onions soften and smell sweet.
10 minStep 2: Add 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds, 1 coriander and parsley bunch and 7 ½ cups water, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 3: Stir in 5 ½ oz brown or green lentils and simmer, half covered, for 30–35 minutes more, until the lentils are tender and the chicken reaches 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh and pulls easily from the bone.
35 minStep 4: Meanwhile make the pastry: mix 10 ½ oz plain flour, 3 ½ oz fine semolina and 1 tsp salt, then add 1 cup warm water gradually and knead for 10 minutes into a very soft, smooth, elastic dough.
10 minStep 5: Pour a little ¼ cup vegetable oil on the worktop, oil your hands and pinch the dough into 16 plum-sized balls. Coat them in oil, cover and rest for 15 minutes so they relax.
15 minStep 6: Set a large non-stick frying pan or an upturned wok over a medium heat. Flatten one ball on the oiled worktop, then stretch it outwards with oiled fingertips into a very thin, almost transparent sheet about 30 cm wide.
2 minStep 7: Lay the sheet on the hot pan and cook for 30–40 seconds a side, until it turns opaque with a few pale freckles but stays soft and pliable. Fold it in four and keep it under a cloth. Repeat with the rest of the dough, re-oiling with ¼ cup vegetable oil as you go.
25 minStep 8: Lift out the chicken and keep it warm. Taste the broth for salt; it should be loose and generous. Discard the herb bundle.
Step 9: Unfold the sheets one at a time into a wide serving dish, brushing each with 1 ⅜ oz butter and spooning over a ladle of broth and lentils, until all are layered and well moistened. A common mistake is under-saucing: the pastry soaks up a lot, so be generous or it eats dry.
Step 10: Arrange the chicken on top, spoon over the rest of the lentils and sauce and serve at once, while the pastry is soft and hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 720 kcal
- Protein
- 46 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does trid take?
- About 150 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 100 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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